Hometown Heroes Share Honor

Nba All-stars Dazzle

West Wins Hard-fought Game In Overtime

SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA All-Stars were in one of their rare alignments Sunday. The pride seemed real, the play was spirited, the drama genuine. And they played defense.

In what was one of the best games of its kind, the Western Conference stars defeated the plucky Eastern Conference stars 135-132 in overtime at the Delta Center.

The game was so good it seemed scripted -- even better than last year. Sure, the game in Orlando, Fla., had crackled with Magic Johnson's cameo comeback. But the bottom line was a 153-113 West victory.

This time, the hometown players, forward Karl Malone and point guard John Stockton of the Jazz, led the West to a gutty victory and shared the Most Valuable Player award. Perfect. Malone had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Stockton had nine points, six rebounds and 15 assists -- including four points, two assists and an important steal in overtime.

Malone gave some of the credit to West coach Paul Westphal of the Suns.

"I think if you were writing a movie, and having a game in Utah, it was great," said Malone, who is starring in a soon-to-be-released Western (no pun intended).

"But I think you also have to give coach Westphal a lot of credit because I don't know how many times he ran that 34," Malone said, referring to a pick-and-roll play. "He ran that play to death."

The local heroes truly christened the sparkling Delta Center, which is 2 years old. In what probably will be remembered as the first All-Star Game for Magic rookie center Shaquille O'Neal, the immediate impression was of two Jazz players standing in the middle of their home court, jointly holding aloft the MVP award. The sight pitched their fans into a frenzy.

"Thanks go to the fans in Utah, who came out and showed

everyone what the NBA was all about," Stockton said. The rest was drowned out.

"I think the competitive atmosphere was similar to what the Olympic players went through," said Jordan, who played on the U.S. team with Malone and Stockton. "I think the defensive intensity was [there] because you had four great centers out there anchoring their teams, and both teams fed off that."

The West seemed to have the game won in regulation, but missed 8 of 21 free throws in the fourth quarter, including six in the final four minutes. Cavaliers guard Mark Price, who won the long-distance shootout Saturday, had three three-point field goals in the fourth and Jordan scored eight points.

A missed free throw by Warriors guard Tim Hardaway with 16.7 seconds left in regulation gave the East an opening it did not waste. With 8.1 seconds to play, Knicks center Patrick Ewing took a pass from Jordan and made a 14-foot jumper that tied it at 119.

In overtime, Suns guard Dan Majerle (18 points, seven rebounds) put the West ahead for good when he hit a three-pointer two minutes into the five-minute extra session. A Stockton steal and a free throw by Spurs center David Robinson put the West ahead 134-130 with 13.5 seconds left.

O'Neal (14 points, seven rebounds) played a token few seconds in the fourth quarter. He played all but 35 seconds of overtime, but was not a factor.

"I would have liked to have been out there at the end, but I guess [East coach] Pat Riley wanted more experienced guys in there," O'Neal said. "But I'll be there next year."

O'Neal had numerous first-half confrontations with Robinson. Behind the Admiral, the West got off to a rousing start: a 14-6 run that included a 24-second violation by each team.

Playing alongside Ewing (7 foot), O'Neal(7-1) threw down his first dunk midway through the first quarter. It was a one-handed jam, and drew a foul. O'Neal converted the three-point play to cap a 13-0 East run.

With four minutes left in the first quarter, O'Neal sat for a rest. The West, with a spark from Majerle, used a 13-0 run to lead 27-26 at the end of the quarter.

Thereafter, the game stayed close. In the final seconds of the first half, O'Neal took an errant jump shot by Hornets forward Larry Johnson and, in one leap, slammed it through the hoop. Once again, he used both hands.

That was O'Neal's final highlight. He played a little more than six minutes at the start of the third quarter, sat for 15 minutes, 54 seconds, got up for 28 seconds late in the fourth, then sat again. He played 25 of 53 minutes.

"I wasn't trying to rest him," said Riley, the Knicks coach. "I just wanted to get Brad [Daugherty, of the Cavaliers] and Detlef [Schrempf, of the Pacers] in the game. My intention was to bring [Shaq] back."

Riley was going with Ewing (25 minutes) and Daugherty (19) in the pivot. He would leave O'Neal on the bench until overtime. By then, Shaq was cold.